Hello, where the hell have you been?

I've been out. Well...I was here. I just wasn't writing. So...this and that has happened. I've been away from my blog long enough to forget how the everything works.

I restarted and subsequently finished my Couch to 5K plan. Go me! I wasn't blogging during that time, but I did recount some of the journey on Facebook, which I will transcribe to this format.

Let's see...what else has happened?

I quit smoking. I still want a cigarette every single day. But I keep not smoking. I want one right now. I'm not smoking. Smoking is expensive and very, very bad for my lungs and I'll never gain true speed and endurance in my running if I smoke.

I still want a cigarette.

I was able to start taking the martial arts class in June. We got through close quarters combat which consisted of wrist breaks (meaning someone grabs you by the wrist and you break their hold), two leg sweeps, and several submission holds. I passed the cycle check for that.

This is NOT an example of close quarters fighting.
It's just amusing.

The next (and current) cycle is ground fighting. Yes, where you learn how to roll around on the ground and try to get the upper hand. I promptly hurt myself...not rolling around on the ground trying to throw off my opponent, that would feel far too awesomely badass. Nope, I hurt myself trying to practice a shoulder roll. Because I'm apparently just that clumsy. Torn deltoid tendon, crunched ligaments on top of glenohumeral joint, and strained supraspinatus. I was off work for a week, recommended eight weeks of PT (but I'm healing fast and may be done in four) and six weeks no martial arts class. At least not my combatives class. I can still take the Saturday Family Karate class, it's mostly forms which the doctor said was okay to do. I still take my step-daughter in for her class and I watch what her class is learning and take notes. She's in the 10-13 class, they learn almost the same thing the adult class goes over.

I still miss class. Sometimes I don't want to go in and watch my daughter's class, because I know I can't stay for my class and I really want to be out there.

I've been trying to find some pictures of the ground fighting holds they've been learning, the guillotine choke and the kimura. Well, there's plenty of pictures but most of them just look like a tangle of limbs and you can't really tell what's going on. A great many of the pictures fall into two subcategories: horrifyingly painful and/or gory or tediously near-porn.

So instead I will leave you with this.

Credit: Unknown
If this is your picture and you want me to take it down, you have but to ask and it shall be done.

Iranian female ninjitsu trainers. Boom!